


Infuriating

by missolivetree



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Love, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), POV Lily Evans Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26572048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missolivetree/pseuds/missolivetree
Summary: There are many angles to the tale of how Lily Evans and James Potter fell in love. This is only one of them.A collection of snippets about how Lily came to love James Potter.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	Infuriating

James Potter was infuriating.

Lily Evans and all the other first-years had just been sorted, and now she was sitting at the Gryffindor table, looking to the other side of the Great Hall, where Severus was sitting in the Slytherin table. This was not what was supposed to happen. They were supposed to go to Hogwarts together, learn magic together. And now they were in different houses. Would they still be able to spend time together? Would they still be friends?

She must have seemed as insecure as she felt because the girl sitting next to her put her hand in her arm and asked her softly, "Hey, are you okay?"

The girl had light brown hair and gentle blue eyes.

"Yeah”, Lily said,“ it's just that my friend and I were hoping we'd be in the same house, but he got sorted into Slytherin. I'm just a little sad we're not together, I guess".

"Oh, I see", the girl answered. "Well, I'm sure you'll still be friends, though. We'll probably all have classes together. In the meantime... Maybe I could be your friend? I don't know anyone here. My name is Mary."

Lily looked at her and smiled. "I would like that. I'm Lily."

"I can be your friend too", a boy with round spectacles said from across the table. He had a mess of black hair in his head and was sitting cross-legged on the bench. "Anyway, you're probably better off without that friend of yours. I always heard no good ever came from Slytherin."

 _How dares he?_ Lily couldn't believe the nerve of this boy. Insulting her closest friend, just because of some stupid tradition of putting students into houses? He didn't even know Sev!

"I think I've made enough friends for one night, thank you very much", she told him coldly and turned to talk to her new friend Mary.

* * *

James Potter was loud. So very loud.

Lily was in the common room studying. Or at least she was trying to. She couldn’t focus, with all the noise Potter and his mates were making. They were playing Exploding Snaps, and between the explosions, the laughter, and the constant chatter, Lily couldn’t even hear her own thoughts.

“Could you _please_ be quieter?”, she asked them. “Some of us are trying to study here.”

“And some of us are trying to enjoy themselves, Evans”, Potter answered.

“Can’t you guys enjoy yourselves somewhere else? Like in your dorm?”

“Can’t you study somewhere else? Like in the library?”

“I should be able to study in my own common room, I would think”, Lily said.

“It is a _common_ room. For _common_ activities practiced in _communion_. So, we should be able to play games while other people do other stuff, like studying”, Potter retorted.

Lily glared at him in a way she had been told by her older sister was very unladylike. Potter glared back. Eventually, their glaring contest was interrupted by Remus.

“Come on, James, just leave it. We’ll try to be quieter, Lily, sorry.”

“Thank you, Remus.”

* * *

James Potter was excessively competitive.

Since their first year, both Lily and Potter had been at the top of their classes. In most of the classes, one of them was the best.

Lily did it because she was Lily. Because she was always striving to be as good as she could be, in whatever it was she deemed worthy of her time and effort. So obviously, in class, it meant she usually ended up with good grades. Mostly because she believed she could, so she studied enough that she did.

Potter did it because he was Potter. Because he believed he could be the best. And so he worked just hard enough that he could beat everyone else.

Most of the time, despite everything, this worked well for both of them. It was a bit frustrating at times, Lily admitted that, but keeping each other in check was a good motivation to try harder.

But right now, it was just ridiculous.

“We’re on the same team, Potter!”, Lily yelled.

“I know that, Evans”, he answered with that smug grin of his that made Lily grind her teeth.

“Do you? Do you really know that? Then why, pray tell, do you insist on answering faster than me, even when you don’t know the answer?”, she asked.

Professor Flitwick had decided that, since exams were close, instead of having a normal lesson, they would have a little quiz. As such, he had divided the class into teams and was asking them questions. The team who got the most answers right in the shortest amount of time would win. What, exactly, Lily didn’t know. But the mere suggestion of there being a winner was enough to make James Potter insufferable.

And of course, because Lily had obviously upset the gods somehow, Potter was on her team. And instead of communicating with each other to decide on who would answer, or to check if they had the answer right, Potter and Lily were just trying to outsmart each other. Never mind the fact it was actually costing them points.

They did not work well together. Not at all.

* * *

James Potter was a bully. Even worse, he was an arrogant bully.

Lily had just witnessed Potter, once more, hexing Severus in the courtyard for apparently just being there. There probably had been some shared words between the two of them beforehand, but it always ended with someone being hexed.

Lily wasn’t blind, she knew Severus was also to blame. He also hexed Potter and didn’t hold back in what he said to him. But Potter seemed to bask in the attention other students gave him every time this happened. He looked proud, almost, for hexing a Slytherin. Like he had successfully proved a point. For all his talk about Gryffindors being brave and chivalrous, he sure didn’t look the part. No, he just seemed to like the attention.

And Lily couldn’t help but feeling… disappointed with him for that. Throughout her time at Hogwarts, she learned she had to agree to some extent with the common feeling towards the Slytherins. Even if she was admittedly biased with Severus because of their past, she couldn’t deny some of his friends were creepy and seemed somewhat evil. And she knew part of why Potter was constantly fighting with Slytherins in general, and Sev in particular, was because of that. But hexing them for the sake of it did nothing useful to any of them. So every time she witnessed something like this, she felt disappointed, even if she couldn’t quite figure out why she had expected anything else from him. Why she kept expecting him to be better.

After all, James Potter was just an arrogant bully.

* * *

James Potter was privileged and ignorant.

They were all in the Gryffindor common room, doing their homework. Lily was working in a History of Magic essay due next Tuesday and had just asked Marlene a question about some dates. Of course, the one who answered her was Potter.

“You’re still working on that? That essay was so straight-forward, we all heard those stories when we were children.”

“Not all of us, Potter. And I wasn’t asking you”, she said, turning back to Marlene.

She heard someone mutter something like “You know she’s a muggleborn, mate”. Potter didn’t look her in the eye for the rest of their study session.

The following week, she found a book in her bag with a note inside. The booked was titled _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ and the note read:

_I’m sorry about last week. I know sometimes I forget not everyone grew up like me. I’m trying to work on it. I even asked Remus to tell me some Muggle fairytales. They’re quite interesting!_

_Anyways, I asked Mum to send me a copy of_ Tales of Beedle the Bard _. I promise this isn’t some kind of prank, or me trying to make fun of you. I just… thought maybe you would like it. To read about wizarding fairytales. You deserve all the fairytales in the world. Muggle or wizarding._

_Just… Please don’t be mad at me. I’m trying to be better._

_James Potter_

Maybe James Potter wasn’t that bad after all.

* * *

James Potter was dumb.

Lily was on her prefect rounds one night when she heard Professor McGonagall ask a stuttering James Potter what he was doing in the halls past curfew. For all the reputation he had about sneaking out, he certainly was doing a terrible job right now.

“He’s actually with me Professor McGonagall, sorry”, Lily said after turning the corner. Later, she couldn’t explain exactly why she did it, but she decided to help Potter.

McGonagall raised her eyebrows at her, a look that screamed “ _Care to explain?_ ” _._

“Well, uh, Potter saw me leaving for rounds and noticed I looked a bit under the weather, and he asked if he could come with me, just in case I needed something. And I wasn’t feeling all that well, so I said yes.”

“And where were you just now?”, the Professor asked, still not convinced.

“Bathroom.”

It took a few extra seconds of the Professor looking at Lily, but eventually, she softened.

“Even if I appreciate your willingness to keep to your duties, and Mr. Potter’s willingness to help you, next time try to ask another prefect to come with you, and not just another student. Or try to exchange schedules if you must. Do you need to go to Madam Pomfrey?”

“I don’t think so, Professor. It’s just my time of the month, you know? Feeling a bit nauseous and crampy. I’ll be better in the morning.”

“Well, on you go, then. I think you can end your rounds here, for tonight. Have a good night, Mrs. Evans, Mr. Potter.”

“Thank you, Professor. Have a good night”, Lily said.

She turned then to look at Potter, who hadn’t said a word throughout the whole interaction. She raised her eyebrows at him, hoping to convey the same energy as McGonagall when she did it.

“You lied”, he finally blurted out.

“I told a convincing story based on partially true facts”, she said.

“So, you lied.”

“I saved your arse from detention, is what I did. A little thank you would be appreciated.”

Lily noticed how his neck was just a shade redder when he mumbled a “Thank you”. She deemed that good enough and started walking back to their common room, hoping he would follow.

“What are you doing out, then? And where are you critically acclaimed sneaking out skills?”, she asked him.

“Uh, I was actually coming back from the kitchens… Peter was feeling bad because of his grades this term and kept going on about how he was disappointing his parents, and stuff like that. So I went to grab him a piece of chocolate cake. The house-elves love him, he spends so much time in the kitchens talking to them, so they don’t mind baking for him.” He stopped talking for a while to rub the back of his neck. He looked nervous. “I know chocolate cake doesn’t solve any problems, but it always cheers him up, so… I guess I was so distracted trying to get back I didn’t even hear McGonagall approach me.”

“Oh”, Lily said. She couldn’t think what else she could say to that. She hadn’t expected James to be so honest with her. She had only expected him to keep his smug façade on.

“Are you really feeling crampy or did you just say that? I don’t know much, but my Mum used to say chocolate always helped her, so you can have a piece of the cake if you want.”

“I’m okay, Potter. Thank you”, she said with a genuine smile, wondering where that tug at her heart was coming from.

James Potter was a good friend.

* * *

James Potter was focused.

And Lily Evans was staring.

It was Friday evening. It was raining outside, but the common room was warm with the fire on the hearth, so they were all there. Lily was sitting in her usual armchair close to the fire, reading. The problem was, she kept getting distracted by James Potter. She couldn’t even blame him, though. He wasn’t actively trying to get her attention, for once. But ironically, she kept glancing at him. And she was outright staring right now.

She hadn’t intended to. But there was something undeniably enticing about the intensity with which he was focusing. He was sitting on the floor, with his little Quidditch mannequins and a parchment, trying out plays and taking notes now and then. That had become a common sighting ever since he was named Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

His pupils were dilated, and his eyes were a darker shade of hazel. He kept ruffling his hair absentmindedly, making it even more untamed than usual. His sleeves were rolled up. His lips were swollen because he was always biting them when concentrating harder. He didn’t even flinch when a first-year ran past him. It was like he was inside a little bubble created just for him. And Lily got a glimpse of what was going on inside that little bubble.

“Hey, McKinnon, come here a second”, he called Marlene, a beater in their team. “I want your opinion on this, do you think we can pull it off?”

That was also something that had become more common. James Potter asking for feedback and taking criticism positively. Yes, it was still mostly about Quidditch, but…

She felt a weight on the side of her armchair and startled, looking up to find who caused it.

“You know”, Dorcas said, “you could just admit you like him. It might prove more fruitful that staring at him the whole evening.”

“I wasn’t staring”, Lily lied. “And I don’t like him. I’m just barely beginning to tolerate him.”

“Whatever you say, Lils.” Dorcas was grinning at her, making it obvious she hadn’t believed a single word. “At least admit you find him hot, and then you’ll have a reason for all the not-staring you’ve been doing.”

“Okay, fine, I can admit that I find James Potter _moderately_ handsome. But that’s it. And don’t go telling him, Merlin knows he doesn’t need an ego booster.”

“Sure thing, Lils”, Dorcas said, fully laughing, now.

But truth be told… Lily did think James Potter was hot.

* * *

It was a sunny afternoon and the usual group of Gryffindors was out in the courtyard. They’d been sulking after reading about the latest Death Eater attack on the Daily Prophet. The war was looming upon them, and it was becoming harder to ignore they were living in a bubble in Hogwarts, one that would soon burst when they went in the real world.

That was, of course, until James Potter intervened. He had a way, Lily thought, of making the light shine even through the darkness. He always found a way to make his friends a little less sad, as if he couldn’t stand seeing them down. It was adorable, really.

“Let’s make a race to the other side of the courtyard”, he suddenly said.

“What are you on about, mate?”, Sirius asked him, not even looking.

“Come on, I bet you my stash of _Bertie_ _Bott's_ _Beans that I can beat you to the other side.”_

_Eventually, they all agreed. You couldn’t say no to James Potter when he was on a mission to make his friends happy. And that’s how they found themselves in a line, counting down to start._

_“3… 2… 1!”_

_As soon as they started, James cast a Jelly-legs jinx on Peter._

_“Hey, what the hell!”, he screamed as he fell to the ground._

_“I never said it was going to be an honest race”, James said with a wink and broke off running. From that moment, jinxes were flying everywhere._

_Mary was the second down, victim of a Dancing Feet spell. Sirius was next and was left levitating in the middle of the courtyard. Marlene got struck by an Ebublio jinx and was making an impressive feat of keep going forward inside her bubble, but she eventually got behind, after colliding with Dorcas, who found herself glued to the ground. Only Lily, Remus, and James were left._

_Lily escaped a Trip jinx from James and looked his way, laughing, sending him a jinx to fog his glasses. He stumbled and stopped short._

_“What did you do to him?”, Remus asked her._

_“Stunned him with my good looks, of course”, she said and took advantage of him laughing to playfully shove him to the side and run the remainder of the courtyard._

_By the end, they were all laughing again, no thought of war on their minds._

_Thank Merlin James Potter was goofy._

* * *

Lily and James were sitting by their favorite tree near the lake. It was one of those sunny winter afternoons when it was still cold enough to call for cozy clothes, but warm enough to sit in the sun. Lily had her head on James’ lap and her mind on the book she was currently reading. James was reading the latest issue of Quidditch Times and playing absentmindedly with Lily’s hair.

It felt… peaceful.

Suddenly, James sneezed, startling Lily, who dropped the book on her face. James promptly picked it up, apologizing while laughing.

“Sorry, love, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Lily looked at him. His glasses were lopsided, and the tip of his nose was red. She giggled and straightened his glasses.

“Don’t worry about it. Are you cold, do you want to go inside?”, she asked.

“Not yet, you can finish your chapter”, James said, leaning to leave a kiss on her forehead and going back to playing with her hair.

James Potter felt like home. And Lily was undeniably in love with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated!


End file.
